fitness, health & fashion by model and YouTuber Kirby Anne Akindeinde

Motivational Mondays

London based mega babe and stylist Kitty Cowell has teamed up with sports and lifestyle brand Mitchell & Ness to design a hat as part of the LUKCY Project (yes, it’s spelt that way on purpose) all in the name of mental health awareness. The project so far consists of two videos showing several individuals who open up about their own personal set backs and how they have worked their butts off in order to ‘create their own luck’.

The first video shows Kitty herself. She expresses her struggles as a child growing up with dyslexia, tackling depression and dealing with endometriosis. Kitty shares how she has overcome setbacks, picked herself up and fought her way to become her own boss as a stylist and lifestyle blogger. You can see the full video below.

The second video, in collaboration with Mitchell & Ness, shows other creatives who talk us through how they have reached success whilst dealing with personal issues. It’s actually pretty emotional and inspiring to say the least. Check it out below!

Kitty has designed a limited edition hat in which their are only 25 of in the whole world! It’s super cute and will be auctioned later this week with all profits going to Mind Charity. Keep an eye out on Kitty’s Instagram (@kittycowell) for full details of the auction. It’s only the beginning for this project but I’m already excited to see more.

I haven’t written anything personal in a while yet I think it’s about time that I do so, especially seeing as I’ve got a certain issue on my mind; body positivity.

Social media is great. It helps us connect with people that we may never have had a chance to encounter otherwise. It builds friendships, has helped many to find love, provides hours of fun and can be a great motivational tool (if you’re following the right feeds). On the other hand, there are a few issues generated from social networks that are pretty unhealthy to say the least. It can cause feuds, end relationships, feed our shopping obsessions, leaving your bank balance feeling pretty sorry for itself, and can turn even the most sane of us into obsessive stalkers. It’s OK, we’ve all been there.

The thing is, actions that would be frowned upon in real life become acceptable in our online world. We can see everything and if we can’t, we’ll find a way to do so. Crazy, I know.

‘What does this have anything to do with body positivity?’ I hear you say. Well, let me explain. Everything that we see and become obsessed with online, sparks how we feel in person. When we feel inadequate on social media, we also feel it in real life. Yes, it can bring the highs, but it can bring us crashing down just as quickly.

World renowned author, Paulo Coelho, writes that, ‘Two things prevent us from happiness; living in the past and observing others.’ Let’s focus on the latter. Yes, we are able to observe people in person, yet a deeper insight into lives from across the world is so easily accessible via social media that we can’t help but to look at it. With observation comes analysis and the dangerous act of comparison.

‘OMG, that bikini is amazing.’ *Clicks onto bikini page* ‘Ohhh that girl looks great in it…’ *Clicks onto girl’s feed* ‘Look how stunning she is!’ *Studies a few images* ‘How does she get her waist to be so tiny?!’ *10 images later* ‘Why aren’t my boobs that big… No, her butt cannot be real! Seriously, look how toned her legs are. If only I looked like this…’ *Now studying every single one of her friends* ‘All of these girls are gorgeous. I’m so ugly, hate my belly, wish my bum was bigger, oh and I’m getting a boob job.’ *Scrolled way back to 2015 on several Instagram accounts, now knows bikini girls life story and has eaten three packets of crisps while acquiring all of this really useful information*. You get the idea.

The thing is, it’s so easy for us to doubt our own image (amongst other things but let’s stick to image for the sake of this post) that we suddenly have insecurities that we weren’t quite so concerned about before and do you know what the worst part is? Social media isn’t real. The forced poses, 100’s of snaps before we get the right shot, filters and if we’re taking it to another level, bought followers and editing apps. You wouldn’t believe how many girls edit their pictures to make their boobs and bums bigger and waists smaller and it looks so believable. All of this for the gram, perhaps to hide their own insecurities and to portray a life that’s a little bit shinier than it actually is- making anybody admiring it feel a little less sparkly.

So I ask one thing. Carry on with social media and spend your time on their as you please, but do remember to take everything with a pinch of salt and most of all, don’t forget to focus on your own body more than anybody else’s. The most powerful thing- even more powerful than social media- is your own sense of self worth. Feeling more confident in our skin can have a number of benefits on our attitude, drive and success. Embrace your body with all of it’s beauty and flaws. Love it, rock it, live in it and try tell me that doesn’t feel great.

This week, Speedo launched a brand new movement in the hope to reduce drowning worldwide. It’s called Swim Generation and could seriously save lives.

Did you know that over 1,000 people loose their lives to drowning every single day?! It’s the third leading cause of death worldwide!

The initiative aims to help contribute to the reduction of drowning through increasing awareness and by providing people with the correct skills and knowledge to prevent drowning from occurring. They’ll be donating kit, time, funds and expertise to allow these lifesaving projects to have a real impact. It’s a global initiative and for some people, could be the difference between life and death.

The thing is, that they can’t do it alone. They’re not asking for much. In fact there are some small changes that you can make, named by Speedo as ‘Small Ripples’…

Small ripples:

– Have a conversation – let people know about Swim Generation

– Pledge your support to Swim Generation across social media

– Share a story – let people know about the issue

– Make sure you tell friends and family how to stay safe

– Post and share water safety messages on social media

To bigger things that really ‘Make Waves’…

Making Waves:

– Donate to one of the Swim Generation community partners

– Learn lifesaving skills

– Volunteer your time

– Drowning prevention – ensure you have an action plan in place to help keep you and others safe

Or if you are even more committed, it could be you who ‘Turns The Tide’.

Turning The Tide

– Help raise funds for one of the Swim Generation community partners – complete sponsored swim

Speedo are definitely in my good books lately. First it was Make 1k Wet, encouraging people to get more active and increase fitness in other areas by hitting the water and now they’re saving lives through Swim Generation. Why not spread the word or get on board yourself. You never know, it could help to keep somebody alive.

I was reading an article last night that stated, ‘one in 40,000 people naturally have a model’s body type.‘ If you know me or have been following my blog for any length of time, then you will know that I feel very strongly about the impact that social media has on society and in particular, on self-esteem.

Social media (and media in general) has become a way to fill our minds with ‘what we want to be’, making us feel that little less happy with ourselves as we are, in the hope that we will buy into something else to make ourselves feel better. Whether the purchase is a product or lifestyle, it seems that we are always comparing and aspiring to be something that we’re not. This has to stop.

I’m sure that we can all relate to that feeling when your favourite track comes on and you just have to start moving/singing along/doing your signature move. It’s an instant feel good moment and has the ability to lift your mood in a split second- a sudden burst of energy from absolutely nowhere. We might not realise it but music has the exact same impact on the quality of your workout, which is why it’s so important to load your playlist with the right tracks.

It’s inevitable that everybody’s playlist will be different (and we definitely need to keep them updated with our new faves) but I thought that I’d share with you what mine currently looks like. Here are some of my favourite motivational exercise songs…

So I had to stop myself from adding more, as I could have gone on forever, but hopefully some of these may help to motivate your workout too! My top tip for creating your own playlist is to add songs that you love, played to get you through a difficult time or that evoke positive emotions. Exercise is always easier when you have some emotion to channel!

First of all, Happy 2017! Wow! We have a whole new year ahead and no idea what’s around the corner, but what we do know is, that it’s within our power to make the most of it! January is the perfect time to set new goals, which is why so many of us do, but how many of us actually see them through? These are my top tips on how to set your New Year’s resolutions and smash them!

The final day of 2016 has arrived and hasn’t the year just flown by?! Some of us may have had the best year yet, while others might be glad to leave it behind. For me, it consisted of a lot of change. I quit my full-time office job to embark on a whole new career, welcomed amazing new people into my life and said some very difficult goodbyes. It’s been quite the emotional roller-coaster, let’s put it that way. But whichever way your year has gone, there’s a brand new one ahead, giving us the perfect chance to set new goals and really make the most of our time in 2017.

I’ll be kicking off the year with the Tigeress Lifestyle January Fitness Challenge– a whole month of motivational posts full of fitness tips, tricks and news (make sure to hit subscribe in order to receive free email notifications every time a new post is up)! Join me for the first post tomorrow, with my top advice on how to make your New Year’s resolutions last. We can do this!

So, farewell 2016. It’s time to love you and leave you. 2017, let’s make you a good one! x